


Five Times Derek carried Stiles and one time it was the other way around

by orphan_account



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, A bit mysterious maybe, Angst ish, Cat!Stiles, Fluff, M/M, Monster folklore, Pack routine, Vague mention of nudity, hunting things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-23
Updated: 2013-10-09
Packaged: 2017-12-27 11:01:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/978048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles opened his eyes, trying to remember where he was. Blinking slowly, he stretched out his whole body; yawn loud in the vast and pretty empty living room of Derek’s loft. Derek who was by the way standing few feet away, leaning against the table in front of the window.</p><p>“I don’t remember falling asleep here”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bag of Potatoes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SweetFanfics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetFanfics/gifts).



> This little bunch of oneshots is a gift to one of my favourite member of the Teen Wolf fandom, chaoticwaltz on tumblr, so bring her some love and enjoy the first chapter in a series of six!

Stiles opened his eyes, trying to remember where he was. Blinking slowly, he stretched out his whole body; yawn loud in the vast and pretty empty living room of Derek’s loft. Derek who was by the way standing few feet away, leaning against the table in front of the window.

“I don’t remember falling asleep here”

Derek fought the urge to sigh. Of course he didn’t fall asleep on the couch.  Stiles Stilinski obviously had cat genes for there was no place too uncomfortable to fall asleep and no position too impossible either. Last night, Derek had found him half-laying on the coffee table, pen still in hand. He couldn’t decently leave the boy sleeping like that so he moved him to the couch. Instead of answering, the wolf just shrugged before throwing a paper bag toward him. Stiles peeked inside and instantly a brow rose up high on his forehead.

“You bought me a breakfast?” he asked, looking at the pastries.

“As if. It’s from Scott”

Stiles seemed a bit… Disappointed? Not a chance. Derek caught mid air the croissant that Stiles threw at him and Derek gave him a disapproving look that Stiles brushed off with a shrug. Derek rolled his eyes. Stiles could be such a kid sometimes.

“So, did you find anything?”

Derek gestured toward the papers clogging the coffee table. Derek didn’t touch anything; last time he had done so, Stiles nearly murdered him because “idiot you messed up all my organization” followed by a good amount of swearing.

Derek walked around the table, hesitant to sit down next to the boy who was ruffling through the sheets. Eventually, the wolf took place next Stiles who didn’t bother to look at him, way too occupied to mutter behind his breath while rummaging with the piles of papers.

“There!” Stiles shouted, holding triumphantly a crumpled sheet in his hand.

Derek took a bite of his croissant, leaning forward and Stiles’ eyes narrowed dangerously as he saw the crumbles falling on his sheets.

“Enlighten me” said Derek, superbly ignoring him.

“So, remember the weird powder we found? It’s clay”

“Clay?” Derek repeated, brows frowning.

“Yup, as in clay to create a golem” added Stiles, shoving a printed picture of a giant creature made of muscles towering a little group of people.

“What?!”

“You know, big guy, super strong, controlled by a wizard or something along that line, destroys almost everything. Our big buddy tends to get out of control of its master”

Derek just sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

“How do we get rid of this thing?”

Stiles’ tongue was poking out on the side of his mouth as he searched through another stack of papers.  Not that Derek ever saw him do that before, just that it seemed a little bit distracting by sitting so close to him.

“Hey! We’ve got to go!”

Isaac caught himself just in time to not roll down the whole staircase.

“What’s going on?”

“Scott just texted me, a giant man’s been seen smashing cars on a parking lot”

“Seems like our guy” Stiles said.

Derek got up on his feet, abandoning his croissant on the coffee table.

“We’re going”

“But we’re not prepared! You can’t go fight that thing without knowing everything about it” Stiles protested, hands waving papers around him.

Sighing one more time, Derek turned to him, bent slightly and grabbed the boy around the waist. Derek felt him froze and used the effect of surprise to just throw Stiles over his right shoulder.

“Derek! What are you doing?!”

“You’ll tell me everything about the golem in the car”

“Put me down, Derek, I can walk” ordered Stiles.

“Faster this way”

After a short struggle, Stiles eventually gave up. On the way out of the loft, Derek caught Isaac pursing his lips in an effort not to laugh. Five seconds later, Isaac’s laugh filled the corridor and Derek couldn’t help but smile, trying to imagine Stiles’ deeply annoyed face while being carried like a bag of potatoes.


	2. Like A Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek threw his phone on the passenger seat, hands fisting around the wheel. Outside his windshield, the headlights only showed the empty road, the lean silhouettes of the trees and the snow surrounding their feet. When his phone chimed, he grabbed it so hastily and so tightly that he almost crushed it.
> 
> Incoming call from Isaac
> 
> “You found him?” Derek asked in a growl.
> 
> “No, not yet” Isaac let out a sigh. “But with Lydia, we think we might know where they went”
> 
> Derek heard some shuffle in the background, footsteps then a short silence.
> 
> “You have to head for the lake” said Lydia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second chapter, which happens to be longer than what I thought it'd be. Enjoy the reading!

_Hey buddy, it’s Stiles! I can’t talk to you right now, since you obviously reached the voicemail. Well, you can leave a message, or not, whatever shakes your boat. I’ll try to call you back. Emphasis on try to. See ya!_

Derek sighed heavily, the stress weighing more on his shoulders by each passing second. He pressed the speed dial key once again, to reach Stiles’ voicemail once more. Hearing his voice somehow soothed the mix of anger and anguish storming in his guts, but it also reinforced Derek’s fear. For a brief second, Derek wondered how Stiles had managed to fit his message within the limited time allowed to the usual “I’m not available right now, call me back”.

Derek threw his phone on the passenger seat, hands fisting around the wheel. Outside his windshield, the headlights only showed the empty road, the lean silhouettes of the trees and the snow surrounding their feet. When his phone chimed, he grabbed it so hastily and so tightly that he almost crushed it.

Incoming call from Isaac

“You found him?” Derek asked in a growl.

“No, not yet” Isaac let out a sigh. “But with Lydia, we think we might know where they went”

Derek heard some shuffle in the background, footsteps then a short silence.

“You have to head for the lake” said Lydia.

“The lake?”

“Yeah, the one in the preserve” added Isaac.

Good thing that he wasn’t that far from it then.

“Any news from Scott?” Derek asked.

“Lydia just called him; he’s heading toward the lake too with Allison. They’ll call you if they find something”

“Right” and he hung up.

Derek’s brows creased as he saw snowflakes lazily landing on his windshield. The temperature outside was already unbelievably cold, if it started snowing again, the researches would be slowed down. The pack might be counting three werewolves but with the nemeton being active again, it wasn’t just a beacon for every weird creature wandering around but even the nature started to change: animals that didn’t belong in this area had been spotted in the woods and the weather was less predictable than ever.

He took a left turn and soon enough, the Beacon Hills Preserve sign showed up. No sign of Allison’s car or Scott’s bike. But parked on the side, roof and hood covered with a thin layer of snow, was Stiles’ Jeep. Derek pulled up and quickly spotted the foot prints in the snow.

Luckily for him, it hadn’t snowed since Stiles had parked his car so the prints looked almost as fresh as if he stepped here minutes ago. A second set of prints coming from the passenger’s side of the car indicated that Stiles wasn’t alone. Probably Deaton, since the only missing person other than Stiles was Scott’s boss.

Derek followed the traces, entering the woods. The two pair of prints took the same direction. Despite being winter, a good half of the trees still wore their leaves. The other half stretched out their naked branches like claws ready to tear apart the empty sky. Derek tried focusing his ears on any sound, other than the snow creaking under his shoes.

Just in case, Derek let out his claws. Since the beacon was attracting every kind of weird creatures possible, one could never be too careful. The sets of footprints seemed to turn right and for a brief second, Derek let out a sigh of relief, realizing the lake was in the opposite direction of the nemeton.

Not that there were no danger. Derek just couldn’t approach this place. Horrible memories, horrible stories. The farther he was from it, the better he felt. Well, theoretically speaking of course since he was back to Beacon Hills.

The trails entered deep in the woods and Derek stopped for a second to pull out his phone, just one last time. The signal was feeble but there so he tried his luck. The time seemed so infinitely long as he waited to hear Stiles’ voice at the other end of the line.

  _Hey buddy, it’s Stiles!_

“Fuck.” He muttered, hanging up before the end of the message.

Derek wondered for a second why the hell he would be out so late at night in the Beacon Hills Preserve with an emissary. A cold winter night. Learning. Of course it had to be something about learning. Derek rolled his eyes at the memory of hearing Stiles telling him he’d learned Morse language out of boredom.

Just when he saw that the tracks started to get more spaced, he heard a voice shouting.

“Stiles, don’t!”

Derek dashed immediately in the voice’s direction just in time to see Stiles halfway turned toward Deaton, bent forward in a sort of salutation, and behind Stiles a young pale boy with a water lily floating centimeters above his head.

“What, he said he just wants to play” said Stiles.

Derek blinked and the next second, Stiles had been thrown in the snow, the little boy tightly wrapping his limbs around him.

Derek rushed to Stiles, wolfing out, just to be stopped by Deaton who grabbed the back of his jacket.

“Don’t. You can’t help him” he said in a deep tone.

“What are you saying?!” Derek grunted, shaking off the veterinarian’s hands.

“Hey ladies, a little help here!” cried Stiles, one hand wrapped around the boy’s throat to keep him at bay as much as possible.

Deaton kept holding up Derek from intervening, with much more strength that the wolf expected of the man. Alan focused his attention toward Stiles, hand still pressing firmly on Derek’s chest and fingers tightly clawing around his wrist. Derek didn’t have time to lose, Stiles could die right here, right now in front of him. Just when he was about to push back Deaton, the man turned to him and locked his eyes with his own.

“Trust me” he said firmly and calmly. “He can do it but don’t interfere”

Derek nodded reluctantly in acceptance. Deaton’s grip on his didn’t loosen even though he agreed to not move.

“Stiles, you’ve accepted a challenge. You have to win this challenge.”

“What the fuck?!” was Stiles’ answer as he pulled on the boy’s hair.

Derek studied quickly the little boy: he had an incredibly pale skin, covered in what seemed to be blue scales and they were reflecting the moonlight rays. Above his head, the water lily bowl swayed a bit, water drops spilling from time to time and instantly freezing before landing in the snow. The boy, despite looking quite lean, seemed pretty strong and his current objective was obviously to bite Stiles.

“It’s a wrestling challenge, overpower him and you’ll be safe”

“Are you kidding me!”

Deaton, to make sure that Derek wouldn’t move to help Stiles, threw a circle of mountain ash around them even before the wolf could do anything.

“Are you mad?!” Derek hissed, fangs bared. “He’s gonna get killed!”

“I said, trust me” insisted Deaton, visibly not afraid of the fact that Derek could simply slash his throat.

Snow was sent every way, Stiles was clearly running out of breath and despite pushing on his feet, arching his back, he wasn’t able to push away that tiny little boy. Derek tried to push past the barrier only to get thrown back.

“Stiles!”

Derek was barely aware he’d just shouted Stiles’ name, getting back up on his feet. Stiles’ body slowly went limp against the boy’s body and right this instant, his only wish was to kill Deaton. But if he did that, there was no way he would get out of the mountain ash circle.

“Stiles!” Derek cried out again, the sound of his own blood rushing through his ears too loud that it covered anything else.

Derek grabbed Deaton’s collar, bringing their faces so close he could’ve torn his face with his teeth.

“Break the cir-”

A weird cry interrupted him and they both looked at Stiles elbowing strongly the boy just under his chin, which made him loose his grip and balance. Derek watched how fast Stiles used this moment to bend one knee and launch it in the boy’s ribs. Stiles finally grabbed one of the boy’s wrists and twisted it behind his back, knee digging in the middle of his back and they both fell forward in the snow.

Stiles’ cheeks were red from both the cold and the fight he just had, chest heaving so unevenly he looked like he was about to faint. Strangely, the boy didn’t fight back and stayed there, unmoved, face in the snow. As if to make sure that he was in control, Stiles pulled on the boy’s arm and it simply popped out, like a broken puppet.

Stiles shrieked, still holding the arm, and stepped back, a sheer look of horror on his face. Deaton chose this moment to break the circle and Derek rushed toward Stiles who looked more shaken than anything else. Perhaps a split lip, scratches around his neck and on his hands, but nothing more.

While Derek was checking on Stiles, Alan took the boy’s arm from Stiles and turned to the little boy who had finally moved, sitting down in the snow. He looked intently at his missing arm, gaze slowly shifting from it to Alan’s face who knelt down, taking the precaution of a safety distance.

“I know you would do anything to have this back”

Deaton’s voice was soft, it was not a question, just a simple statement. Derek, now sure that Stiles was safe and in one piece, watched with anticipation and curiosity. Next to him, Stiles was shifting nervously, breath still sharp. Derek hesitated before brushing his fingers on Stiles’ who shot him a surprised then relieved look. Stiles pressed his shoulder against his and Derek let him, if it was enough to make him feel safe then shoulder against shoulder it would be.

“Yes, I would very much like to have it back, please”

The voice snapped them back to the fact that there was a young boy sitting in the snow. His voice sounded distant, soft and familiar. Derek was pretty surprised that the boy didn’t any move to attack them – to attack Deaton to be precise – in order to retrieve his missing limb. His politeness was also very strange and quite unnerving. The pressure of Stiles’ shoulder very lightly increased as the boy briefly turned his gaze to him.

“I would be more than happy to give you back what belongs to you” said Deaton.

The emissary was holding the boy’s arm with precaution, very much like a precious relic of some sort.

“I believe that you would like to make an arrangement in exchange of the return of my arm”

The boy slowly got up, the moonlight playing on the skin of his face. He dusted off the snow of his very thin outfit that consisted of a deep green shirt and a black short. He didn’t seem to mind about the freezing temperature.

“You are right, we would like to make an arrangement” answered Deaton, getting up as well.

The boy stopped dusting off his shoulder and looked up, one eyebrow up high.

“We?” he repeated.

“Yes. Even if Stiles is the one who took your arm and I am the one who will be giving it back to you, the arrangement cannot include just the both of us”

The boy’s eyes narrowed to a very thin line, but Deaton’s tone suffered no arguing. They both stared at each other for a moment until Stiles cleared his throat out of boredom or nervousness. Certainly both, Derek thought.

“Very well” was the only answer the boy deigned to give.

“I assume you have been attracted here by the nemeton” said Deaton and the boy nodded to confirm. “Other creatures have been and will come here. These two” he made a move toward Stiles and Derek “as well as other people are trying to keep this area safe. You can help us keep it safe and in exchange you will be offered your favorite food”

The boy stance changed instantly, his eyes strangely glistening.

“What are the exact terms of our arrangement?”

“You are forbidden to eat or kill any human. You have to keep us informed of any creature entering this territory. If you do your part, you will be fed twice a week”

The boy crossed his only arm on his tiny chest and Derek found it odd. Apparently, Stiles did too because he heard his swallow hard, as if to try to not puke.

“You are asking huge favors, human” said the boy, taking a step forward. “Don’t forget the consequences that will come along if your part of the arrangement isn’t kept”

Derek felt the need to growl, fangs gnawing at the inside of lips. He really didn’t like the cold and dark tone the boy used in his last words. Deaton took a step in the boy’s direction, mirroring his moves.

“Don’t worry about that. Your first meal will be served in three days; you will meet the other persons who will also take part in the arrangement”

The boy’s eyes glistened even more at the mention of a meal and this time, Stiles’ fingertips gripped Derek’s who instinctively squeezed gently. Deaton kneeled down in the snow, holding out the arm to the boy. For a moment, he didn’t move. Then slowly he knelt down as well and bowed his head, taking carefully his arm back. Alan got back up and Derek and Stiles watched as the boy bowed down even more, his dark locks brushing over the snow, the water lily bowl dangerously swaying. Alan stretched out his hand to prevent it to fall.

“Thank you” came the muffled answered of the boy.

Then without ceremony, the boy simply put his arm back, as if it never were torn from his body, stood up and looked at the three of them for a moment.

“From this very moment and until the arrangement is broken, I am your obliged” he said.

The boy then seemed to ignore their presence and walked toward the lake, partly hidden by half naked bushes. The boy sat on the bank, tapped his fingers on the iced surface until it cracked and the moment his fingers touched the water, he vanished.

Derek was about to resume the “let’s grab Deaton’s collar and shake informations out of him” action when Stiles’ legs gave out.

“This…” he started “This was so fucking scary” he breathed.

Derek shot a dark glare in Deaton’s direction who was looking at the sky. Stiles was shaking from head to toe, probably from the cold, after all he fought in the snow and now his clothes were starting to get soaked. Derek bent down in order to help him get up and was surprised to feel arms wrapping around his neck.

Derek’s only response was to wrap his own arms around Stiles’ waist and to lift him up. When he felt that even on his two feet, Stiles’ balance was uncertain, he slid his hands under the boy’s thighs and pulled up. For a second, Derek waited for any kind of complaint. Instead, Stiles followed up the movement and wrapped his legs around the wolf’s waist, burying his face in his shoulder.

“This was so scary…” repeated Stiles as Derek started walking, Deaton few steps away before them.

“And so freaking cool…” he murmured, Stiles cold lips breathing hot on his skin.

Derek almost stopped walking and a brief glance at Stiles’ face told him all he wanted to know. Sure, Stiles got scared for good reasons. But he also saw something that Derek hadn’t realized: even if potentially dangerous, they made an ally. This was one of the things Derek liked about Stiles: sometimes, he still could see things with child’s eyes. And by the time they reached the cars, Allison and Scott had joined them, and Stiles was asleep in Derek’s arms who was making sure to share his warmth. He really looked like a child, head softly lolling on the wolf’s shoulder. And Derek, instead of internally cursing Deaton for his weird lessons and ways of protecting people, thanked him with a slight nod as he climbed in the backseat of Allison’s car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus: Whoever can recognise which creature is featured in this chapter is free to prompt me a oneshot. To not be overwhelmed by prompts, there will only be three winners. Remember to send me your answer through a non anonymous ask, thank you <3 (you can find me at nightgreyowl.tumblr.com ^^)


	3. Piggy Back (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You know you’re a pain in the ass” Derek stated, pulling his phone from his pocket to see if this time there was a signal.
> 
> “I have a pain in the ass” came the instant answer.
> 
> “Then get up and stop sitting on rocks”
> 
> Derek underlined his argument with a rise of a brow made in grumpy wolf before sighing again at the sight of the NO SIGNAL flashing on his phone screen in big red letters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third part of the serie. Not as long as the previous one, hope you'll like !

“I’m tired”

Derek refrained himself from rolling his eyes in fear of they might stay stuck on the wrong side of their sockets.

“Stop whining. And walk”

“Dude, we’ve been walking for hours now” said Stiles, dodging a branch Derek had pushed off his way just in time before it hit him in the face. “I am tired”

And to emphasis his words, Stiles just let himself flop on the floor, grimacing instantly as his butt probably landed on a rock. Derek sighed and walked back to the boy. They shared a moment, staring at each other in defiance then with an almost invisible shrug, Derek sat down.

“You know you’re a pain in the ass” Derek stated, pulling his phone from his pocket to see if this time there was a signal.

“I have a pain in the ass” came the instant answer.

“Then get up and stop sitting on rocks”

Derek underlined his argument with a rise of a brow made in grumpy wolf before sighing again at the sight of the NO SIGNAL flashing on his phone screen in big red letters.

* * *

“Remind me, how did we get lost in a Preserve?” Stiles asked.

His sneakers were rattling on the floor, leaves creaking, and when he wasn’t talking, he was sighing or grumbling under his inexistent beard.

“We’re stuck in a loop, Stiles, how many times do I have to tell you that?”

Derek heard the clear sound of feet stumbling, a branch crashing somewhere on his left behind him. But no swearing followed. Stiles resumed walking as if nothing happened.

Derek looked back, waiting for Stiles to catch up on him and they both walked side by side. Around them, the woods made normal sounds: birds singing, bushes moving suspiciously just to discover it was a rabbit. They were simply stuck in the same area of the preserve.

Usually, when people got lost, the better advice was _don’t move, stay at the same place_. At least it was the most common. But the situation wasn’t common, to say the least. Creatures living in the woods when they weren’t blood thirsty liked to play pranks on humans. So right now, Stiles and Derek were walking and walking, passing through the same path over and over again because somewhere, a minuscule creature found it funny to watch them like that, walking in circles and bickering.

“How do we get out of this loop thing?”

Stiles’ voice was a little raspy. Derek liked it this way. Stiles sounded softer with a hoarse voice. Which was a bit paradoxical but Derek had stopped wondering about paradoxical things long ago.

“We pray that Scott finds the idiot playing with us and makes him undo the spell”

They walked in silence for a little moment. Then Stiles stopped suddenly and looked at him with wide eyes.

“So if Scott and the others don’t move their asses faster, we could walk here forever until death do us part?!”

Derek snorted at the expression.

“Basically, yes”

After a sigh, Stiles resumed walking and Derek followed along, his shoulder closer to the boy’s than previously.

“I’m tired”

Derek wanted to scowl at him but he saw just Stiles smiling, sticking out his tongue. Derek shook his head low, hiding his own smile.

* * *

It was getting darker and for the fifth time, Derek caught Stiles’ by the arm before he fell face down first.

“You’re tired” Derek said.

This earned him one of the most memorable bitch-please face Stiles ever did.

“Come on, I’ll carry you” he said, tugging lightly on Stiles’ arm.

The idea seemed to horrify Stiles who tried to get out of his grip.

“What? No” he protested.

“Don’t be silly, he can hold longer than you and yo-”

“I’m human, yes” cut Stiles. “But I’m not a kid anymore; I just need to take a break. A nap. D’you get the idea, buddy?”

They stared at each other, holding their positions like they were about to start a war.

“Stiles…” insisted Derek.

Apparently, something made Stiles change his mind. Derek just knew that he gazed him for a moment then sighed a fake irritated _okay_.

“But you’re not carrying me in your arms” he said.

* * *

“Your hair are tickling my cheek”

Derek’s brain hesitated between chuckling and sighing. He briefly stopped walking to push Stiles up in a better position.

“Then put your cheek elsewhere” Derek answered.

“But your neck is comfortable” slurred Stiles, breath soft and warm on Derek’s skin.

“Then be quiet and sleep” Derek ordered, trying not to sound too bossy.

For a moment, silence answered him. Until…

“Make me” Stiles’ raw voice whispered.

This made a shudder ran along Derek’s spine. He kept walking, making his way through the bushes without really realizing that the path was being different.

“If you open your mouth one more time, I’ll knock you out on the next rock I find” Derek warned.

A soft snore sounded behind him. Stiles’ arms grip was slowly loosening, his legs bouncing in rhythm against Derek’s thighs. Warmth was soaking from the boy’s chest, pressed against his back. Stiles’ heart was beating steadily, a small but very distinguishable flutter in its rhythm reminding Derek what Stiles, Scott and Allison gave up to not only save their parents’ lives; it also saved his own in the process.

Derek stopped to listen, not Stiles’ heart this time, a familiar sound. Approaching, he finally recognized the engine of Scott’s bike and one of something bigger, certainly a car. Few minutes later, the headlight of Scott’s bike hit his eyes, forcing him to screw up his eyes and he heard the brakes of Chris SUV as soon as both engine stopped.

“It was about time” Derek said “Piggy back is for kids, and I can assure you he’s not weighing _anything_ like a kid” he added, pushing up Stiles who snored louder, head lolling on his shoulder.

Scott laughed and Chris opened the door to the backseat of his car. It was time to get home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading until here. Thanks to a lovely person who reminded me of this, indeed the creature in he previous chapter was a kappa. It was a free adaptation of this Japanese monster, so please bear with my inaccuracies ^^'
> 
> See you in the next chapter!


	4. By the collar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the fourth chapter of this serie! Hope you'll like it as much as I liked writing it ^^

“Stiles, no, come here!”

A loud scream instantly followed by a volley of insults that made Scott’s eyes widen at Isaac who, after what seemed to be an intense fight, retrieved his arm from under the chest of drawers.

“What?” asked Isaac with a wince, bloody and scratched arm pressed to his chest.

Scott sighed heavily, glancing under the chest of drawers quickly just to be rewarded by a hiss and a low, continuous and dangerous growl.

“We need help” Scott said, fishing his phone from his pocket.

A curl sticking to his lightly sweating forehead, Isaac took an offended expression.

“But you’ve got me”

Scott stared back at him with a stern look.

“I mean real help” he finally replied, finger pressing the speed dial key.

* * *

Derek’s eyes widened at the state of Scott’s bedroom. How could such a small room be such a mess? And he was very kind to call that just a mess: the shelves were barely hanging on the walls; the desk had very visible claw marks, the mattress was slashed in the middle and the cotton was spilling from the fabric wound like blood all over the floor. To be simple, no single piece of furniture was intact.

Derek pinched the bridge of his nose, not daring to ask what happened here and why the hell his Alpha couldn’t handle the damn thing himself with a beta already in the area.

“I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know” Derek said, wincing “So make it short”

Scott sighed and Isaac winced, his arm still healing. Derek rolled his eyes so hard he thought he might have sprained something.

“We were studying the book of spells Deaton lent to Stiles” started Isaac “And we thought it’d be funny to try one”

There was silence for a long, very, extremely long moment. Derek eventually sighed, gesturing for him to continue.

“It turned Stiles into a cat” Scott replied in his place.

They both looked away.

Derek considered again the state of the room. What kind of cat could do that?

“We tried to catch him but he ran everywhere, tried to bite us and all”

“Not just tried…” Isaac reminded him sourly.

Derek refrained just in time not to facepalm.

“Where is he?” Derek asked.

Both pointed fingers toward the chest of drawers and as soon as Derek took a step in that direction, he heard a groan, low, menacing and frightened at the same time. He crouched on the floor and approached his hand from under the furniture. A loud hiss and a little shuffling indicated him that Stiles moved, trying to back away from him.

“It’s just me, Derek” he said, speaking softly “I don’t want to hurt you”

The meow still sounded furious and scared. Derek flattened his hand on the floor and started to tap his fingers one after the other, hand sometimes shifting from one side to another. There were still hissing from time to time but after ten minutes of this play, Derek could see Stiles’ eyes, pupils blown wide as he was focused on the wolf’s moving hand.

Little by little, Stiles was showing up, sneaking out from his hideout, the hisses lowering. Behind him, Derek could feel Scott and Isaac’s gazes, wondering what he was doing or why they didn’t think of that in the first place. Derek turned back his attention to Stiles who was now ready to jump, eyes following his fingers and his fingers only, body flattened at his maximum, posterior legs bouncing ever so slightly with the imminence of the blow. One second later, Stiles was on Derek’s fingers, mildly gnawing them as he kept moving them, paws giving little blows. And with that, Derek grabbed Stiles by the skin of his collar.

* * *

Even in cat form, Stiles still looked like Stiles: brown fur, short hair and brown eyes. Well, they looked more amber-like.

“Why are his ears folded like that?” asked Isaac, tilting his head on the side to study him more.

Stiles was currently sprawled over Derek’s shoulders and neck, purring like a sport car and rubbing his cheek against Derek’s stubble.

“Because the race of cats he belongs to is called Scottish-fold” said Deaton, side-eyeing the beta.

Isaac retreated behind Scott who made an apologetic face to the veterinarian. Alan gestured toward Derek who pushed himself off the wall and softly put Stiles on the metallic table. Deaton forced Stiles’ mouth open while Derek was trying to comfort him by petting him gently. Stiles tried to fight back, but Deaton was surprisingly fast and made him drink a concoction through a pipette and then maintained Stiles’ mouth closed until it was visible that he swallowed.

“Now step back” said Deaton, doing so very cautiously, as if Stiles would now turn into a bomb about to explode.

On the table, the cat started to cough and his low meows clearly indicated how painful it was. Then the fur quickly fell, like leaves falling from trees in autumn, and with that same speed, the cat body morphed into a human shaped body. Sprawled on his side, sweat glistening on his skin, a naked Stiles was shivering on the table.

“Oh” said Alan, eyebrow rising on his forehead “I forgot about that part”

Isaac left the room with a loud _ew_ while Scott went in search of a blanket, laughing. For his part, Derek shied his gaze away after throwing his jacket on Stiles.

“Thanks buddy” Stiles said, voice raw and shivering.

It only reminded Derek of how strongly the cat was purring and, praying that no one could see him blush, he brushed the tip of his fingers on the spot where Stiles was rubbing his cheek against his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading till down here ^^ Don't hesitate to tell me what you thought of it, what you liked ^^ See you for the next chapter!


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